its unbelievable that the major sports tv people always say Bobby Bowden etc etc
They both did it on the track and cross country; that’s the sign of a truly great coach. I always thought in the right environment Dan Pfaff and Tom Tellez could have been good cross country coaches.
its unbelievable that the major sports tv people always say Bobby Bowden etc etc
Bit easier to win with 3 chances/year and only like a half dozen programs even trying.... I would love to know what the scholarship split on some of those teams was. Most of those teams were really deep.
its unbelievable that the major sports tv people always say Bobby Bowden etc etc
Bit easier to win with 3 chances/year and only like a half dozen programs even trying.... I would love to know what the scholarship split on some of those teams was. Most of those teams were really deep.
I knew pretty well the scholarship split on some of those teams. you wouldn’t believe the great runners on books only scholarship or guys on 18% scoring at all 3 nationals.
Good list. Lyle Weese at Montana State is emerging as a coach who can often help not-nationally-recruited Montana HS kids become national class runners.
Why has santos been mentioned here but guy he ran for then worked under for years and mirrors is not mentioned. Let’s be honest - training at most of top programs is very similar now and what makes the difference between coaches here and those not mentioned is those that calm teams down in training august/September, those that help their athletes mentally prepare and those who over years have created a good environment for the kids (coach involvement here is type of kids they recruit). Indeed I ran with one of the coaches mentioned here and he never showed up at practice (afternoon classes or another excuse) and he had a GF so literally only time we saw him was at races - as ‘leader of our team’ certainly didn’t help team spirit and morale.
Why has santos been mentioned here but guy he ran for then worked under for years and mirrors is not mentioned. Let’s be honest - training at most of top programs is very similar now and what makes the difference between coaches here and those not mentioned is those that calm teams down in training august/September, those that help their athletes mentally prepare and those who over years have created a good environment for the kids (coach involvement here is type of kids they recruit). Indeed I ran with one of the coaches mentioned here and he never showed up at practice (afternoon classes or another excuse) and he had a GF so literally only time we saw him was at races - as ‘leader of our team’ certainly didn’t help team spirit and morale.
That is too juicy not to share more of a hint who your coach was. I can't imagine a top 5 coach who doesn't show up to practices. Dave Smith or Wetmore?
The #1 factor in high-end results at the college level is scholarship dollars and resources. That is no secret. You could be the best coach in the world, but without those two things you will be very limited verses other teams that do have them. Teams can buy talent and results. A lot of coaches are like talent managers as opposed to really developing people over several years or putting a competitive team together non-HS superstars.
Example: How many different coaches has Stanford had in the past 25 years? A lot. Regardless of that they have talent out the ears and every year they have individuals and teams having success.
There are good, average and below-average coaches at colleges all across the country regardless of the size of school.
3. Dave Smith (multiple national titles, been on the podium in multiple eras)
4. Mark Wetmore (outside the top 10 i think only 2 or 3 times in 25 years)
5. Laurie Henes (multiple national titles, done an admirable job)
People that people will whine about:
Vin - hasn't been a good coach in over a decade. UVA hasn't done sh** since he has been there.
Milt - Top 5 recruiter, top 25 coach.
Ricardo Santos, Diljeet Taylor, Sean Carlson, John Hayes - probably top 10, just on the outside looking in
Can't believe it took multiple posts in this thread for someone to mention Jerry Schumacher. Though ranking him 1 is possibly too much, look at what Mike Smith's just done.
He had a lot of success at Wisconsin before he went pro. (though... 90-94!) He hasn't dominated the world after a few months back in the NCAA at Oregon, but there hasn't been nearly enough time at Oregon for that to be meaningful information.
The way the question's worded you can probably argue that his pro successes count - it says "XC coaches", but doesn't specify that "top" only means their NCAA-level successes. Specifying "XC" excludes his pro athletes' biggest successes (26:33!! 12:46!! 26:59!! etc.) but still allows for Chris Derrick's multiple national championships
Jerry Baltes has access to the best resources of any D2 school in the country. He's done well but nothing extraordinary. The only reason Grand Valley isn't D1 is because the school doesn't want to go from dominating at all sports to a nobody.
Jerry Baltes has access to the best resources of any D2 school in the country. He's done well but nothing extraordinary. The only reason Grand Valley isn't D1 is because the school doesn't want to go from dominating at all sports to a nobody.
Partially this, but the real reason GV doesn't want to go D1 is because of the period where they can't compete. There have been multiple rumor mills (mostly from the football program) about going D1 but they all get shut down because administration doesn't want recruiting to take a hit.
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